Editors' Review

No longer a fledgling upstart, Firefox 3 is full-featured, lightning fast, and an able Safari foe. Previous versions have seen Mozilla's approach to features such as tabbed browsing and extensions become extremely popular. Even though Firefox 3 lacks a killer feature, it offers significant improvements not to be missed.

Version 3 introduces a multitude of safety and usability features. The location bar drop-down menu now includes URLs from both your browsing history and your bookmarks. A new Add-Ons manager includes a built-in plug-in search engine, saving you the previous trip to the Mozilla Web site. Single-click the star icon on the right of the location bar to bookmark the current page, or double-click on it to simultaneously add and edit the bookmark entry. You can tag bookmarks, too. Other impressive new features include password confirmation before adding it to the saved passwords list, the ability to pause and resume downloads, and merged forward and backward history lists.

Firefox 3 now runs faster and, according to Mozilla, is less susceptible to hacks and other vulnerabilities. The browser now warns your system's antivirus program when you download a file, and anti-phishing utilities automatically give you a warning page before allowing Firefox to load risky sites. The favicon reveals Web sites' ownership details and displays the security level of your connection to that site.

Developers will appreciate that Firefox 3's new graphics and text rendering code provide rendering improvements in CSS and SVG as well as improved display of fonts and complex scripts. Firefox 3--still open-source, as ever--is a browser that all users should consider making their default Web-surfing tool.

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Publisher's Description

Mozilla Firefox is a fast, full-featured Web browser. Firefox includes pop-up blocking, tab-browsing, integrated Google search, simplified privacy controls, a streamlined browser window that shows you more of the page than any other browser and a number of additional features that work with you to help you get the most out of your time online.

Version 3.0.6 has improved the ability for scripted commands (including those included in popular extensions like Adblock Plus) to work properly with plugins and fixed several security and stability issues.

What's new in this version:

Fixed several security issues.

Fixed several stability issues.

Official releases for the Estonian, Kannada, and Telugu languages are now available.

Items in the "File" menu show as inactive after using the "Print" item from that menu - switching to a new tab restores them (bug 425844). This issue has been fixed.

For some users, cookies would appear to go "missing" after a few days (bug 444600).

Every single time I downloaded it and installed it,my problem was that it keeps making my YAHOO E-mail my home page,even when I open a new tab. I got tired of it and replace it with UBUNTU,which uses Firefox,but gives you a much greater degree of control and freedom! "I WILL NOT REINSTALL IT UNTIL IT IS CHANGED AND THE USER HAS CONTROL!

Summary

At first I loved it,then I liked it and after that I don't trust it anymore than I do INTERNET EXPLORER! End of story!!!!

All the usual ways to choose the search engine I want to use work, eventually. Except that creating a new tab brings up a search panel that is locked to Yahoo and cannot be changed (previous versions allowed the savvy to override the preset by resetting the keyword.url config setting; attempts to do that fail, it just stays Yahoo).

I hope Mozilla got a nice piece of change for locking in Yahoo so deeply and permanently. This is so irritating that I'm gone, they are going to have to earn my trust anew.

- Doesn't even load some of my sites that I use to pay bills. (All other browser I've tried load them
- Pestering update system.
- Doesn't load as fast as other browsers
- Chrome and Maxthon are better.
- Abandoning their Metro project was BS.

Hey CNET.COM. How about removing the Free Download link for TuneupMyMac at the top of the page? I am not the only one who mistakenly downloaded that installation file. Also, how about posting a way to get this useless program completly off of our Macs so we do not have to Google search the process??? If you're going to post something like make it a little more known that it's not Firefox.

I can't begin to say how upset I am that I downloaded version 29.0.1 I take security seriously, which is why I immediately updated when prompted to do so. Firefox, like pretty much all browsers, had its limitations but appearance wasn't one of them. The graphics on the tabs are now at best reminiscent of non-serious browsers like Sea Monkey and Opera and at worst of Exploiter. As a result, everything is harder to read and fonts and icons suggest cartoons. For some reason, it has also become exceedingly difficult to drag Firefox into other position. I'll be reverting to whichever release I was using prior to this upgrade as soon as I post this. Wise up, developers. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I find that one site which I need to use is "forbidden" with this version of Firefox. It is very frustrating! I can't figure out how to correct this problem and have had to revert to a different browser to access this site.

Summary

I am more than just disappointed with this new version of Firefox and have deleted it from my computer.

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